Brief / A school project with the aim of solving the rental apartment crisis in bigger cities by matching apartments with tenants through AI technology
Created / Sep-okt, 2021
Client / Linneuniversitet (Linnaeus University)
Created / Sep-okt, 2021
Client / Linneuniversitet (Linnaeus University)
Team / Fanny Tedeblad, Dana Mehho, Ahmed Ali Ibrahim & Annie Bertilsson
Role / Project Management, Participate in UX research, UI design, Icon design, Video
Tools / Figma, Illustrator, Trello & Miro
Methods / Scrum, Market Analysis, User Analysis Future Workshop, Sketching, Heuristic Evaluation, Wireframes, Mockups
Finding affordable rental apartments is a big challenge in many of the bigger swedish cities, especially for young people with limited budget. Matching applicants with suitable apartments based on economy and needs could lead to more people finding a new home. And make the process safer.
Problem description
In Sweden 43,7% of all people aged 20-27 live in variations of rental apartments. Finding a rental contracts are for many people the only alternative, since most people in this age group can't afford to buy apartments. Unfortunately the apartments built are either for purchasing or too expensive for most people in the age group, which leads to a market that doesn't meet the demand. In many bigger cities many applicants have to wait in line for 6 - 10 years to get a first hand contract. This forces many young people into an expensive second-and third hand market where illegal unsafe contracts is common.
Purpose of project
This projects attempts to solve the issue by using a AI algorithm that matches apartments with applicants more efficiently with consideration to income, priorities & household needs. While making sure the contracts offered are legal and making the process feel more safe for both landlords and tenants.
Design process
All group members produced sketches based on the insights gained. The rest of the project was divided in between us based on skills and interest areas to ensure a finished deliverable in time for deadline. All decisions were however made together and all solutions were discussed and adjusted based on the conclusions. I created wireframes based on the joint discussions of the sketches produced. An heuristic evaluation was performed on the wireframes by other group members that acknowledged a few inconsistencies and design flaws in the functionality. I then created a mockup (displayed through the video above) with improved functionality based on the evaluation and group discussions about colour palette and feeling. This was later developed into an interactive fully clickable prototype in Axure by other group members.
User Analysis
The service needs to speak to both people looking for rentals parties that want to rent out apartments. People of all ages 18-65 are looking for apartment, but looking at the current statistics the people most interested in a service like this is between 18-35 years old. The service is targeting both private and commercial parties that offer rentals, to ensure as many options as possible. Because of the limited timeframe the app is designed only from the perspective of the tenants.
To get better insight into the situation, what the users are struggling with and how these issues can be solved a future workshop with seven participants in the age group 23-30 was scheduled. This Participatory design method is a great way of involving the actual user in the creation of the service. This resulted in the following insights
Future Workshop results
Tenant User Needs
- Searching for apartments based on needs
- Clear overview of information
- Understand what the apartment look like and what layout it has
- Understand if the landlord is reliable
- Understand what the apartment look like and what layout it has
- Apply for apartments
- Come in contact with landlords.
- Get personalized matchings
- Find an apartment as quickly as possible
- Find a stable contract
- Display to landlords that they are reliable tenants.
Functionality
- filtering function
- section to feed in preferences to get matched with apartments
- page where ads are presented
- specific ad page with clear overview of details for each ad
- Section for photos and rental layout
- Identification process to ensure identity and contract though BoSafe
- messaging function
- button for applying for apartment
- matching function
- Tenant profiles where landlords can get to know the applicants
Landlord User Needs
- Present rental object with text and images in a visually pleasing way
- Display rental options to find prospective tenants.
- Understand if the tenant is reliable
Functionality
- Modern platform that displays and presents ads in a visually pleasing way.
- Algorithm that make it easier for the right kind of tenant to find the apartment
- Identification process to ensure identity and contract though BoSafe
- Tenant profiles where landlords can get to know the applicants
Site Map
Medium fidelity wireframes
Colour Palette
High fidelity mockup
